Nico Iamaleava debuted as the No. 1 overall player in the 247Sports college football transfer portal rankings after Tennessee parted ways with the starting quarterback following an alleged NIL dispute. The 10-day spring window officially opens Wednesday and the five-star prospect could command a competitive market among teams seeking an upgrade at quarterback for the 2025 season.
Iamaleava reportedly sought a larger NIL deal in the range of $4 million and missed the Friday practice amid the negotiations. Tennessee head coach head coach Josh Heupel reportedly informed the team of the decision to move on from Iamaleava Saturday morning, just hours before the spring game Saturday in Neyland Stadium.
“First, it’s a really tough time to enter the market,” Chris Hummer said Saturday on CBS Sports HQ. “Very few teams on the Power Four level need a starting quarterback. I survey a lot of teams ahead of the transfer portal window and ask them what they need, and I’ve only had a couple bring up quarterbacks — and most of those schools are just looking for depth, like second- or third-string players to have in case their starter gets hurt. So he’s entering an environment where there just aren’t a lot of options. But he is so talented that I think some teams would make room.”
Iamaleava earned the starting quarterback role as a sophomore last season at Tennessee and finished 10th in the SEC in passing with his 2,616 yards. He tallied 19 touchdowns with five interceptions and added 358 rushing yards with three more scores on the ground. Still, the passing game was secondary to the Volunteers’ rushing attack, which Dylan Sampson spearheaded in a dominant campaign. Tennessee was also backed by an impressive defense that finished No. 7 nationally in fewest points allowed per game (16.1).
Tennessee reached the 12-team College Football Playoff, losing to eventual reigning national champion Ohio State, 42-17, in the first round. Iamaleava completed just 14 of 31 pass attempts for 104 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He was sacked four times, but totaled 47 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground.
Iamaleava rated as a five-star recruit coming out of Downey (Calif.) Warren in the 2023 high school class. He ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback nationally, signing with Tennessee over a long list of additional offers.
“A team I would look to from the very jump is UCLA,” Hummer continued. “There have been a lot of rumors about USC, about Notre Dame, about Texas Tech. I’m not really focused on those schools, talking to sources, but UCLA is interesting. They don’t have a firmly established starter. UCLA is home for Nico, somebody from the Los Angeles area. I think UCLA has made some pretty big investments on the basketball side from an NIL perspective over the last couple of weeks, so they are growing their NIL war chest, and I think that’s a school that could make a ton of sense if UCLA and Nico can find that common ground. Another school I’d maybe keep an eye on is North Carolina. They don’t have a 100 percent solved quarterback situation at the moment.”
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Carter Bahns contributed to this report.
